Spring Is Coming
by IceCreamFluff
Summary: Ellie is distant and emotionless after everything that happened with David. Joel notices and comforts her, letting her know that she is always safe with him. A one-shot that takes place a few weeks after Ellie's traumatizing winter.


**Hey guys! So I actually just played The Last of Us for the first time a few weeks ago and I AM SO OBSESSED! I can't believe I never played this amazing game until now and I hate myself for not discovering it sooner. Anyways, the game just had me falling in love with Ellie and Joel and I don't think I've ever connected to characters in a game so strongly (WHO'S EXCITED FOR THE LAST OF US PART 2?!) With that being said, I decided that I want to write a one-shot!**

The sun was just beginning to set, leaving hues of red, orange, and yellow splattered across the sky. The winter was just starting to end, and the weather began to get warmer slowly throughout the days.

Joel and Ellie were trying to find a place to rest for the night. It had been a mere few weeks ever since Ellie and Joel left the burning restaurant where Ellie had beat David to death after nearly getting raped and strangled.

Joel noticed that Ellie had been distant and more quiet ever since. He felt absolutely heartbroken and wanted to talk to her about everything to make her feel better. However, he was afraid to bring it up since it would upset her. Joel gathered a few dry logs and twigs and started a small fire, perfect enough to heat up some food. He dug through his bag and pulled out two random cans. One of them was chicken vegetable soup, and the other was alphabet noodle soup.

He pulled out a small pan-shaped metal object he found in one of the houses and poured the alphabet soup on it, deciding that Ellie should have it.

"C'mon kiddo, I heated up some of the canned soup over the fire. I think it's just what you need to warm you up." Joel said, calling out to Ellie, who was sitting a few feet away staring at the sky. 

Ellie was lost in thought, completely zoned out and oblivious to what Joel had just said to her. Images of the events that occurred during the winter swept through her mind once again. Joel getting severely injured, Ellie having to fight off dozens of clickers and runners, David… The amount of fear Ellie was feeling was the worst it had ever been in her entire life.

" _He's gone, Ellie. You killed that son of a bitch. You bashed that fucker's brains out with a machete and he is never coming back."_ Ellie thought to herself, trying to feel better and move on.

"Ellie!" Joel called out once again, breaking her thoughts.

"What?"

"Did you hear me? I said I heated up some soup for ya. Come have some."

Ellie got up and walked towards Joel. She held out her hands and Joel gave her the hot canned soup.

"Alphabet soup. Nice." Ellie muttered, stirring the half-broken letter noodles with her rusty spoon.

"I actually used to eat that when I was a kid, all the time. I reckon that you'll like it though, it tastes a lot better than the beef stew soup." Joel said, chuckling slightly. Ellie, who would usually make a remark or ask more questions about how life was in the past, simply sat there and stirred the alphabet noodle soup. She held the spoon up closer to her face and looked at it, noticing the letter "D" floating in the soup.

"Fuck that!" Ellie suddenly yelled, launching the soup and noodles with her spoon. It landed a few feet way from Joel, who noticed a now broken letter "D" laying in the grass.

"Oh, baby girl…" Joel whispered, getting up to sit next to her. He put his arm around her and ran his other hand through her hair, gently caressing her in efforts to comfort her. Ellie, who had been feeling numb, quiet, and void ever since the incident with David, didn't move. She didn't lean into Joel, but she didn't push him away either. Something inside her suddenly felt different; she had been bottling up her emotions ever since the incident, and hadn't even cried about it or talked to it about Joel. Being in his arms, however, made her feel different. More vulnerable and emotional.

Joel knew exactly why she was acting like this. The moments after he found her killing David were burned into his memory. The first time he ever saw her cry, the first time he pulled her into his embrace without a second thought and felt the need to comfort her. It broke his heart.

" _That son of a bitch was fucking lucky that Ellie killed him. Hell, if I got to him while he was alive, he probably would beg for a bashing in the head with a machete."_ Joel thought to himself angrily.

Deciding that Ellie needed a distraction, he decided to tell her a story about the world before the outbreak of the disease.

"Ellie, did I ever tell you about the time I went skydiving?" Joel asked, looking at her and smiling.

No response.

"It probably sounds absolutely crazy to ya, but people used to go on planes and jump out. They would fall from the sky."

Ellie didn't look up at Joel, but she was interested in the story he was telling. She asked, "What the fuck? Was it because they wanted to kill themselves?"

Joel, who was glad he found a story that caught Ellie's attention, chuckled.

"No. The jumpers wore these backpacks with a string attached to the side. While falling in the sky, they would pull that string and a big parachute would come out so that they wouldn't fall to their deaths."

"What's a parachute?"

"It's sort of like a giant umbrella that slows down your fall so that you're pretty much floating in the air, coming down really slowly. I reckon it's something that would scare a lot of people, but Tommy and I were thrill-seekers. We went together, actually, when we were around twenty-two years old.

"Oh." Ellie responded, still staring at the ground.

"Ellie, please eat your soup. I don't want you goin' hungry on me, we haven't eaten in a whole day." Joel said, stroking her hair. Ellie silently picked up her soup can and spoon, fishing through the alphabet soup. She held up a spoonful of soup and look at it, this time seeing a floating "F" and "Z". She put the spoon in her mouth and swallowed it. Her stomach suddenly growled for more. Ellie and Joel had spent the day looking for a place to spend the night, and had not eaten at all. Despite Ellie's feelings of fear and dread, she had to admit to herself that she was extremely hungry.

"That's my girl." Joel said, smiling at her. Joel knew that Ellie loved to hear about what life was like before the past, so he decided to tell another story.

"Say, do you know anything about universities? Besides University of Eastern Colorado."

Ellie didn't say anything, but she shook her head no. Joel smiled lightly.

"Well, a lot of students in high schools would often go to a university after completing it. It's usually when they move out of their parents' homes to live in dorms. People normally went to get a degree in some academic field so that they could get jobs later." 

"What kind of jobs?" She asked, suddenly wondering what people did for a living before the world went to hell. At this point, Ellie was desperate to get her mind off of the events from the past three weeks.

"It depends on what you're interested in, I suppose. Some people would start businesses, some would do statistical and data work in offices, others would become doctors and lawyers."

Ellie had no idea what statistical and data work was, but it sounded awfully boring. She couldn't quite focus on what Joel was saying; images of David and the memories of him strangling her and trying to rape her played in her head over and over again.

"People partied a lot in universities too. Since they're away from home and all. They'd get shitfaced drunk and eat all the junk food in the world. They often say that college-"

"Joel…" Ellie looked up at him and Joel saw her eyes full of years. She suddenly wrapped his arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Joel, shocked, pulled her even closer to him and hugged her tightly.

"Aw, baby girl. You're safe with me now. I'll never ever let anything happen to you…" Joel comforted Ellie and kissed the top of her head.

"Joel I can't stop thinking about it." Ellie cried.

"I know honey. I wish I could make it go away. Ellie I promise that you'll always be safe with me. I feel so horrible that I didn't get there sooner. Ellie you're the most strong, fierce, and tough girl I've ever met. You nursed me back to health when I was on the verge of dying, you risked your life just to get me medicine, you are so brave and powerful. Ellie, it's all gonna to be okay." Joel said, hugging her even tighter and kissing her on the head again.

"What if the cannibals or other hunters come back and try to hurt us? Joel I –"

"Ellie, I will never, ever let anything happen to you. If those men dare even _think_ to hurt you they're going to face such a horrible fate that they'll be begging to get beat to death."

"Joel what if I lose you?" Ellie asked, sobbing. She pulled her face away from his chest and looked up at him. Her eyes were read and her cheeks were stained with tears.

"Baby girl, that is never, ever gonna happen. I will always be on your side. I will always protect you and be with you."

"Joel…You know when you came to rescue me, right after I killed David?" Ellie stopped sobbing and looked him in the eyes.

"Ellie we don't need to talk about—"

"No, let me finish. You remember right after when I told you he tried to… and then you told me it's all going to be okay?" Ellie asked. Joel nodded, waiting for her to continue.

"That was the first time anyone held me." Ellie said. In that moment, Joel's heart cracked and he could feel her pain. Ellie, his baby girl, had been alone most of her life. She deserved so much more than the absolute hell that was her life. Joel even felt his eyes tearing up a bit.

Joel leaned down, kissed her cheek, and smiled at her sadly.

"Oh, baby girl… The world was so unfair to you. You don't deserve any of this. It breaks my heart that you grew up feeling so alone. I want you to know that you'll never feel so alone again. I'm going to be with you, by your side, no matter what."

"Joel, I feel safe with you." Ellie responded, smiling a little.

"I feel safe with you too, and you gotta admit we make a great team." Joel said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"You should, I mean I have saved your ass countless times." Ellie said, laughing a little. Joel chucked.

"But we do make a great team." Ellie continued. She leaned her head against Joel's chest again, this time smiling.

"You tired kiddo?"

"Extremely."

"Let's get some rest then. We have a long day ahead of us." Joel responded, looking up at the now pitch black sky. Ellie stood up, with Joel walking right behind her. The two walked towards an abandoned house across the street and climbed in through the window.

There were two bedrooms and a bathroom, with a decently sized living room.

Ellie did not want to sleep in her own bed in a separate room, not that night. Joel had a feeling that was the case, since the two often slept right next to each other.

"Do you wanna sleep next to me, Ellie?" Joel asked, looking down at Ellie. She smiled and said, "Only if you don't mind."

"I never mind. Come on in." Joel replied. The two went into the first bedroom and laid in the queen-sized bed that was inside, dropping their bags on the floor.

"Good night Ellie." He whispered. Ellie smiled, leaned over, and kissed his cheek.

"Good night. And Joel?" Joel turned his head and faced her.

"Thanks for everything." Joel smiled at Ellie.

"Anything for my baby girl."

 **And that's an end to my little oneshot! Please review it! I'm considering writing a piece where Joel tells Ellie the truth about the Fireflies, or maybe a longer detailed story. Anyways, thanks for reading! Feedback is appreciated!**


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